forlorn hope

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

• Received-Pronunciation: /fəˌlɔːn ˈhəʊp/
  Play
• Received-Pronunciation: /fɔː-/
  Play
• General-American: /fɔɹˌlɔɹn ˈhoʊp/
  Play
• General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  Play
• rhymes with -əʊp
  Play

Sense 1 (“troop of soldiers picked to make an advance attack, or the first attack”) is a mistranslation of Dutch verloren hoop (literally “lost troop”): verloren (“lost”, adjective) + hoop (“(obsolete) unit of soldiers, contingent; heap, pile, stack”), mistaking the latter word for the homograph hoop (“hope”). Verloren is the past participle of verliezen (“to lose (possession); to be defeated, to lose (a game)”) (ultimately from Proto-Germanic *fraleusaną (“to cease to have, lose”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“before, in front; first”) + *lewH- (“to cut, sever; to separate; to loosen; to lose”)), while hoop is ultimately from Proto-Germanic *haupaz (“a crowd, throng; a heap, pile”), from Proto-Indo-European *kouHp-nó- or *keHup-. Sense 2 (“dangerous or hopeless venture”) is either an extension of the meaning of sense 1, or from the literal meaning of the words forlorn and hope.

15 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Chinese Mandarin: 決死隊 /决死队 — small troop of soldiers picked to make an advance attack, or the first attack
• Finnish: etujoukko — small troop of soldiers picked to make an advance attack, or the first attack
• French: enfants perdus — small troop of soldiers picked to make an advance attack, or the first attack
• German: Verlorener Haufen — small troop of soldiers picked to make an advance attack, or the first attack
• Italian: fanti perduti — small troop of soldiers picked to make an advance attack, or the first attack
• Italian: venturieri — small troop of soldiers picked to make an advance attack, or the first attack
• Japanese: 決死隊 (ketsushitai) — small troop of soldiers picked to make an advance attack, or the first attack
• Māori: te koiti o Rangapū — small troop of soldiers picked to make an advance attack, or the first attack
• Māori: whakakā — small troop of soldiers picked to make an advance attack, or the first attack
• Polish: mięso armatnie — small troop of soldiers picked to make an advance attack, or the first attack
• Bulgarian: кауза пердута (kauza perduta) — dangerous or hopeless venture
• Chinese Mandarin: 絕望的希望 /绝望的希望 (juéwàngdexīwàng) — dangerous or hopeless venture
• Finnish: epätoivoinen yritys — dangerous or hopeless venture
• Italian: impresa disperata — dangerous or hopeless venture
• Polish: płonna nadzieja — dangerous or hopeless venture